


The Talking Frog Was Right

by DontBeJelly



Series: Dragons Were Never Dinosaurs [1]
Category: Power Rangers (2017), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, a green ranger that must still suffer, as if high school wasn't hard enough, like 5 chapters before getting into supergirl, pft, poor poor maggie, super vague trini/maggie, the crossover no one asked for, this was supposed to be a quick green ranger run through, yeah than a wild plot appeared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-10-17 14:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10595940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontBeJelly/pseuds/DontBeJelly
Summary: Maggie Sawyer just wanted to get through high school so she could get on with her life. She especially wanted out of Angel Grove after the monster attack destroyed the second best place to get donuts. Too bad she decided to pick up a strange piece of green glass.





	1. Chapter 1

Maggie quietly snagged an ice cold water bottle out of the small cooler and quickly headed out of the backdoor of the shop. Her aunt's workplace, a fine jewelry store, wasn't exactly Ground Zero of the wreckage but it had suffered tremendously from a golem being thrown through the large front window. Maggie was only being paid in pizzas and soda for her efforts to help clean up and take inventory. It wasn't hard work, but the tediousness of sifting through the shattered glass and jewelry wasn't exactly her idea of a good time, especially after a massive, worldview shifting, monster attack. Yet, when her aunt had politely asked, Maggie wasn't going to say no to a perfectly reasonable request from the woman who was gracious enough to house and feed her.

Maggie lazily hopped up and took a seat onto a nearby trashcan then leaned her back against the brick wall. The cool shade combined with the breeze off the ocean felt good after the stifling, sun baked, plywood covered storefront. She took a deep breath and drained half the water from the bottle while closing her eyes. Though she had been away from the danger the day before, just knowing there were enormous golden monsters and actual real-life Transformers somewhere out there completely terrified her. The giant green crystal that had been found under the Krispy Kreme was now gone, taken away by the mega-Transformer without any explanation.  The loss of the famous shop was a devastating blow to the residents of the town, but since Maggie had yet to even step foot into the establishment, she didn't feel she had lost anything. Just another thing that set her apart from the everyday crowd.

"Hey, Maggie, think fast!" A familiar voice suddenly echoed off the alley walls. 

Her eyes popped open just in time to see Eugene fake a toss of a sub toward her. She pointedly did not flinch and with a half-smile, she raised her hands in front of her and he actually pitched it at her. The toasted sandwich was still warm, and her stomach rumbled eagerly for the food. "Thanks," she said gratefully as she hurriedly unwrapped the hot ham and cheese.

"Welcome. Think I should I just drop these in the doorway and run while I still can?" He jerked his head down, the movement calling attention to the rest of the hot sandwiches still within the bag in his hands. 

Maggie shrugged with a laugh as she replied. "I don't know, do you want your mom to feed you tonight?" 

He sighed and hung his head as he decided he didn't want burnt mac and cheese, again. Being the son of the shop owner meant more than being trusted enough to not fuck up everyone's lunch order; it also meant being asked to do a lot more difficult work than Maggie would ever have to expect. The door closed behind Eugene as he headed back into the disaster zone and Maggie switched her focus to rapidly filling her empty stomach.

When she finished, she hopped off the trashcan and figured she might as well get back to work. At that moment, the noon sun shining high from above glinted off something half hidden within some litter on the ground of the alley. She tossed her empty wrapper and bottle into the trashcan she just jumped off, wondering if someone had actually tried to loot the jewelry shop after all.

Maggie moved closer and squatted down to investigate. The strange palm-sized piece of glass-like crystal certainly wasn’t a pendent, and there was something that screamed abnormal about how it looked. The slightly translucent, deep green core seemed to glow, even when covered by her shadow. Carefully, she picked it up and was surprised by how cool it was in her hands despite having been laying in the sun for hours. Quickly looking around the trashed alleyway, Maggie couldn't figure out where or what it had come from.

Looking back on that day, Maggie would later understand why she had absent-mindedly slipped the odd disk-like rock into her pocket. She would understand why she had never showed it to anyone, and never questioned the strong Lord of the Rings “One Ring” vibe. She didn't know it at the time, wouldn't know anything concrete for roughly a week, but she had been chosen in that brief moment.

Years later, Maggie would sometimes wonder just how damaged the Green Ranger Power Coin really was, after all was said and done.

  ~*~

The next morning before school, Maggie sighed and rolled her eyes in disgust and annoyance when she saw Colt Wallace picking on a freshman. She supposed it made sense, in his addled little brain; Colt got his ass handed to him by another senior, so now he had to rebuild his reputation on the far smaller students to keep his place within the bully hierarchy. It was such a fragile system. Maggie made sure none of Colt's buddies were around before yanking back on his coat collar-

And amazingly sending him flying clear across the hall and hard into the lockers.

Everyone within the semi-crowded hallway instantly froze.  Jaws dropped open in shock and awe, the birth of new rumors about what had just happened so potent you could almost see them hanging in the hushed air.

Maggie snapped her mouth shut, like she wasn’t just as stunned as everyone else, before turning to the unknown freshman. "You good?"  Her eyebrows raised, almost daring the kid to ask what she couldn't possibly answer.

The kid nodded, a tiny grin starting to form at the sight of Colt,  who was now slumped against the slightly dented lockers on the other side of the hall .

"What is the meaning of this?!" The yell echoed off the walls, reverberating through all the other students, who suddenly had somewhere else to be and scattered like something was on fire.

Maggie groaned when the teacher the voice belonged to stepped into the hall.

The little freshie piped up instantly. "He was shoving me against the lockers!" The kid motioned toward Colt, still slumped over and not moving on the other side of the hall. “She was the only one who gave two shits to stop him!" The freshman's defense slipped closer and closer to a high pitched childish whine with each word he said. Maggie could almost see him stomping his feet and pouting at the unfairness of it all in his next breath.

"Language!” The teacher scolded without hesitation, and he took a quick breath before continuing. “Bullying doesn't mean he deserves to be knocked unconscious! Principal's office, both of you, now!" The tone in his voice left no room for further protest, and the volume of his shouts had drawn two other teachers who quickly moved to check on the flattened bully.

The bell rang and the few remaining students dispersed to their own classes. Maggie rolled her eyes at Colt being helped to his disoriented feet and fell in line behind the teacher with the reluctant freshman. Honestly, she didn't intend to knock out Colt; maybe trip him up and confuse him so he wouldn't want to waste the time, give the kid the time to book it down the hall and escape. Thankfully she hadn't seen any blood leaking out of his head, or she would be in even more trouble.

Twenty minutes later, she was headed towards her first class with a single Saturday detention. The freshman had been a feisty supporter, going on about it wasn't fair for Maggie to be punished for stopping Colt from terrorizing other students. The principal had grudgingly cut the three detentions down to just one, given her actions had been in the defense of another student. She was cautioned to keep out of any further confrontations, however, especially if she was prone to knocking out others instead of using her words.

Maggie handed the hall pass to her teacher without a word and fell into her desk in the back of the room. Her aunt wouldn't give her too much trouble for having earned detention, given the circumstances. Still, Maggie was going to have to figure out just how she had easily tossed a bigger guy across an entire hallway with enough force to dent metal. 


	2. Chapter 2

Maggie texted her aunt after school and headed for the coastline. Very little would get Maggie into the water, but the hiking trail was far enough from people to give her some kind of privacy without leaving civilization. She picked up rocks and branches as she went, flinging and crushing them with far more force than she expected. Splinters and sharp stone edges didn’t slice into her skin. On a whim, she sprinted down a straight stretch of pavement.

It took her all of ten seconds to go the length of a football field.

The surprise and panic roiled in her stomach and she dry heaved, lunch long gone down the proper way. She sat on a boulder and slowly calmed. It wasn’t easy, given how the boulder would crack under her fingers when her hands curled.

Okay. Okay, she could turn rocks into dust and split half foot thick branches on her knee. She was officially faster than any human or animal. And the only thing that had changed in the last few days was that giant glowing crystal. But everyone would’ve been showing some kind of mutation, not just her, right? No one else at school was tossing people into the walls.

The green glass.

Maggie yanked the strange shard out of her pocket and stared at the deep color core for a long moment. She didn’t remember putting it in her pocket that morning. She had completely forgotten about it after going back into the shop. But her jeans were different, she had changed clothes, couldn’t have possibly just had the shard there by happenstance.

The glass disk was flying towards the water before Maggie realized she was up and moving. She didn’t feel any different, but maybe the cool down would take as much time as the power up. If nothing changed by tomorrow, she could figure something else out. Until then, there was an essay due by Friday.

Maggie headed back up the trail with a plan in mind. She would be fine. Everything would be fine.

She didn’t get half way across the straightaway before she came to a halt. The shard of green glass was at her feet. Maggie looked around but saw nothing and no one.

She ran. She took the turn too sharply for her new speed and stumbled into a tree. Nothing horrible happened to the tree, but back on the path waited the disk.

Maggie ignored it. She ignored it all the way into town. She hoped someone would see it on the sidewalk and pick it up. No one saw it. No one noticed a shiny bit of green and gold glass. The damn thing followed her all the way home.

Sitting at her desk with her notebooks out, Maggie glared at the obviously cursed object. “Fine. But you’re doing all the work if you want to be near me.”

Maybe it was too much sci-fi with her aunt, but she knew being stronger and faster didn’t always mean something good. She had already tossed someone into a wall. There would be authorities looking for anyone who could’ve handled golems and gold monsters. Besides, with great power came great responsibility, and graduating high school was all the responsibility she wanted and could handle.

She’d bury it under a boulder tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like a beta?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much thanks to Steph and Valk for helping me clean up and make the next few chapters a lot more awesome than what they were :)

Burying it under a boulder didn't stop it. Tying it to a rock and dropping it down a cliff into the ocean didn't keep it away. Using a sledge hammer in the construction zone that was main street in the dead of night didn't destroy it. Fire couldn't melt it. For all that it looked like a roughed up piece of sea glass, it was the most resilient, persistent thing Maggie ever came across. 

She stopped trying to leave it behind and kept it in her pocket. It was easier to keep the damn thing on her than have it surprise her out of thin air.

After school on Friday, Maggie headed out to the coastal trail again. She jogged a mile down the trail before cutting into the woods along the first mountainside. After strapping her backpack tight to her body, she decided to really test her limits. Taking off up a mountain without a straight path meant dodging trees and boulders and fallen logs. She was giddy at the thrill of being able to react so quickly, of not feeling winded when she broke the tree line. 

Maggie sipped her water and noted only twenty minutes had passed. Looking at the peak, she shrugged and decided she had nothing better to do. She took off at full tilt again, scaling straight up rock faces she wouldn’t have dreamed of challenging. Her fingers didn’t bleed as they dug into stone, and her legs were only just starting to burn a little. The air was thinner but she couldn’t feel the difference.

Sitting at the top of a mountain, Maggie looked out across the ocean and shivered a little. Nebraska had been empty and endless in its own way, but the sea was far more intimidating. Maggie blamed it on the depth; the sea didn't just stretch on, there was so much beneath it. Nebraska was just land. As hard as it was for her to swim in the ocean on a hot summer day, she would take the challenge of deep water over Nebraska’s oppressive air. 

Maybe being some kind of not green She-Hulk wouldn’t be so bad. 

Maggie chucked the green and gold glass off the side of the mountain. The boomerang theory needed testing. And maybe it was a relief to know it would always return to her.

It was back in her hands half a minute later.

~*~

"Maggie Sawyer! Welcome to the Knock Out Colt Wallace Club!"

She grinned a little and shook her head at the antics of the kid in the back of the class. She didn't know who he was exactly, but she was starting to see him in class far more often than before. As for Colt, he was huddled in a corner of the room with two of his buddies. She took a seat at the side of the room, at a desk next to the failed prankster, Jason Scott. The kid who had greeted her scurried over and sat down across from her with a manic grin.

"I wanna ask you something," he said quietly, as if he hadn’t just announced her presence.

"Don't ask me something that's gonna end with me getting another detention."

His grin widened and he looked back the way he came. "Hey, crazy girl, I found someone as tough as you."

She looked back to see Trini shake her head. "Don't piss off my favorite lab partner, Zack.”

Maggie fluttered a hand over her heart. "Your favorite, really?" She and Trini worked well together because they had the same mindset of, "Do the work, don't bother making friends, and get the hell out of high school without murdering some idiot."

Trini flipped her off and Maggie laughed before refocusing on the guy in front of her. 

Zack pulled out a faded, handmade pouch that belonged on a grandmother rather than a teenage boy. It thunked when it hit the desk and his fingers were careful with the jade button, even in his rush. "Have you ever seen anything this awesome?"

In that moment, Maggie learned the meaning of the phrase, “heart stopping."

In the pouch was a gold and black version of her cursed piece of glass.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, her hand automatically going to her pocket.

"How do you feel about donuts?" Zack asked as he closed the pouch.

Maggie made a face.

He laughed. ”Yeah, same here." He looked up as the teacher made his way down the stairs. "Talk after?"

Maggie nodded, hesitant and afraid, but far too curious for her own good. He cheered a little as he made his way to his seat. She dug out her homework on autopilot. It took half an hour to focus on the words instead of the weight in her pocket. She had no idea what was going to happen after detention, but she was completely and utterly ready to blame the damn thing she had picked up a week ago.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life interrupted the writing process with 12 hour shifts....

Zack stuck by her side as they left detention and headed down the hall. Maggie knew there were four others trailing them, keeping close, but not crowding her. He nudged her lightly. "Let's see it."

She dug the damn thing out of her pocket and showed it to him. "What is it?"

He whirled backward and gave two thumbs up to the quartet before urging her to the door. "That's a power coin."

"Power is an understatement."

If it was possible, he looked even more excited. “Did you do anything else besides throw Colt into a wall?”

"Ran up to the top of the mountain next to the coastal trail."

"Didn't that feel awesome?"

"Until the lack of oxygen kicked in, yeah."

He waved at her to put the coin away. "Okay. So. Don't freak out."

"Too late."

"You know that crazy green lady with the gold monster?"

"Not personally."

Zack laughed as he held the door open for her and his friends. "That coin was hers."

Maggie leaned against the railing as her head spun. Most of her reaction was outright terror. She had in her pocket an object linked to someone who caused mass destruction and only by some fluke didn't leave more than a few fishermen dead. Her own first act with her new power had been to almost splatter a guy’s brains on a wall.

"Hey. Maggie. Deep breaths with me, okay?"

Maggie took Trini's offered hands and they spent a minute quelling the shakes. Maggie focused on Trini, inhaling slowly and noticing how the others just leaned on the railings around them. They weren’t annoyed or amused, they were concerned. Instead of letting her mind wonder about what their coins had done to them, she eased the tension from her shoulders as she exhaled. Trini kept an arm around Maggie as they headed down the steps. If Maggie didn’t move away once they were on the sidewalk, well, neither did Trini. The group was quiet until they were away from the school. 

"We've been looking for Rita's power coin all week," Jason said after introducing Billy and Kim to Maggie. "When no one started doing crazy shit without explanation, we thought maybe it followed her into space."

"How did you know I had it?" 

"Our coins reacted to yours when you entered detention," Kimberly said. "We don't know why we didn't feel your coin in any of our other shared classes this past week."

"So now what? Cause I've been trying to get rid of this thing and it won't stay gone."

"It chose you," Jason said. "And since you aren't a bad person and it hasn't driven you to do shitty things, maybe all that time with Rita means nothing."

Maggie shook her head. "The nightmares have been fucking -insane-."

"Have you lost time?" Billy asked. "Like, like you've ended up somewhere and forgot why or how you got there?"

"No, but I've been careful with myself since I almost put Colt through a wall."

Zack grinned. "Great! Rita isn't controlling you through some sort of weird power coin link."

Maggie stared at him. "That can happen?"

He shrugged. "No idea."

"We're taking you to Zordon and Alpha," Trini explained. "Zordon was a Power Ranger and pretty much knows everything. If you really don't want the coin, maybe he can help you disconnect from it."

"I mean, being She-Hulk is pretty cool," Maggie said, "but I could do without the nightmares that are making me punch holes in the wall."

"What kind of nightmares?" Billy asked. "Like, talking to Voldemort's Diary kind of nightmares?"

Maggie scrunched her face as she thought about it. "More like watching the memories than interacting with anyone."

"Not as bad," Zack said, "but probably still not good."

Maggie sighed and texted her aunt to not expect her until dinner. As long as Maggie kept her grades up and didn't get brought home in the back of a squad car, she was allowed to roam as she pleased. "Where are we going, exactly?"

Jason grinned. "How do you feel about trespassing into the gold mine?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please lemme know what y'all think C:


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <.< >.> Real life got in the way, as it does.

"Can you swim?" Kim asked as they stood at the edge of a ravine.

Maggie shrugged. "I won't drown, but there's a reason my summer job is never at the pool." She knew she should probably be suspicious of a bunch of classmates taking her away from people and talking about a swim at the bottom of a ravine. Her current situation was how teen slashers started. 

Except they had all held their coins out and Maggie’s felt warm, and the green glow wasn’t menacing, and her gut wasn’t telling her to run. 

Zack and Jason leapt first, and Billy followed. Maggie could just make out the splash, but she could hear their whoops of joy. She glanced back at where they had left their bags, cell phones, and jackets hidden high in a tree. It wasn't like she'd have service up here, anyway. 

Trini nudged her. “Better hurry up before Kim tackles you in like she did to me.”

Kim scoffed. “Keep acting like you hate me for it.”

Maggie jumped.

The water was warm, not the shock of cold she was expecting. Zack and Jason cheered as Trini and Kim splashed in beside her. 

“Why am I glowing green?” The light around her was bright, like fresh grass, not the menacing dark she was associating with her formerly evil power coin.

“We’re all glowing,” Billy pointed out.

Maggie looked at the others and grinned. Okay, glowing was kinda cool. From just under the surface, Maggie saw Billy and Kim head for a reflective wall, which they disappeared into. After taking a deep breath, she followed Trini and Zack. Keeping in mind what they told her above the ravine, she entered feet first and braced for impact.

The ceiling of water was far more mind boggling than glass shards that caused super powers. She trailed after the others and gaped at the metal behemoth buried in the rock. "You're shitting me."

"Absolutely not," Zack said with a grin. He jogged up the stairs and almost bounced at the top as he waited for them. "Hey, Alpha! We found the Green Ranger!"

Maggie felt something in her stomach roll at the title. They had taken turns explaining Power Rangers and Rita and Zords and Zeo Crystals, but she still felt a disconnect between their stories and the armored heroes of last week. At the top of the stairs stood a robot Maggie could've never dreamed up, even after hours of watching old science fiction with her aunt. 

"This is Maggie," Zack told Alpha. "She's knocked out Colt, too."

"I think I should say something about physical violence solving problems," Alpha mused, as they headed deeper into an honest-to-God space ship. "But you're Power Rangers. It wasn't like you could reason with Rita."

"About this whole Power Ranger thing," Maggie said as they passed through a hall and down into a chamber with what looked like a nebula floating at the center. 

"The Green Power Coin has chosen you for a reason."

Maggie stumbled back when a massive face came out of the pixelated wall. "Holy shit!"

"I am Zordon."

Maggie didn't remember a lot about Sunday school, but she had always wondered why the first things the angels said was, "Do not be afraid." She had a feeling something like this was likely the reason. "Yeah, okay, it let me pick it up, but the last chick who was holding it kinda tried to destroy the planet? And the nightmares I'm having because of this thing," she drew it out of her pocket, "aren't exactly contributing to my sanity."

"Rita was not always power hungry," Zordon said. "She began as all Power Rangers have, a protector of life and light. With time, and the help of your fellow Rangers, the Green Power Coin can be cleansed so it no longer carries Rita's influence."

"Great," Maggie said, tossing the coin from hand to hand. "But why? You're talking like super powers and Transformers will be needed again."

"You're not wrong," Alpha said.

Maggie looked around at her classmates and sighed. "This is insane."

"But you'll stick around so us girls aren't outnumbered during training?" Kim asked.

Maggie frowned, just a little. "But the three of us kicking their asses would just be overkill."

Trini and Kim cackled with glee while Zack and Jason groaned. Billy was just pleased Maggie was part of the team now. Maggie shoved the coin back in her pocket. Okay. So she might have just signed up to be a superhero now. 

This wasn't going to go horribly wrong at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what y'all think?


	6. Chapter 6

"I have a question," Billy said as they showed Maggie the Zord cave. "Does Maggie have a Zord?"

The others immediately focused on Alpha. The idea of her own Transformer had never even crossed Maggie's mind. 

"We have been searching for the Green Ranger Zord, but it may manifest in a new way given how badly it was damaged."

"You don't know what it looks like?" Kim asked. "I thought you said the Zords were based on the most powerful creatures on the planet at the time?"

"Rita never summoned her Zord while on Earth," Alpha explained. "She used Goldar once she betrayed the team."

The six teenagers looked at each other in shock.

Maggie grinned a little. "I wouldn't mind a dragon for a Zord." A dinosaur would've been cool. But a dragon? That would be just as amazing.

“I was able to shelter the Zords here because their Power Coins were near by," Alpha said as they headed back towards the ship. "The Green Ranger Zord would’ve followed Rita into the sea, but the Morphing Grid may have changed its design over time.”

“So why didn’t it follow Rita here?” Trini asked. 

“She would have had to call on it, and she favored Goldar’s malleability. You should be able to summon it in time, Maggie.”

Down in the Pit, Jason asked if Maggie knew how to fight.

“My aunt taught me how to throw a punch, but nothing formal.”

Jason motioned for her to come at him.

Maggie looked at Trini. “I get to hit a jock?”

Trini grinned. “You get to hit a jock.”

Granted, Jason wasn’t nearly so bad as to deserve a punch, as far as Maggie had noticed. He just kept to the football team and didn’t bother with anyone else. The football team did have some status, but they weren’t as bad as Colt Wallace. Still, Maggie ran at him full tilt and aimed for center mass. Her aunt had said face punches hurt more, but they also caused more damage. Breaking someone’s nose or jaw would stop them in their tracks, but sending someone to the ground and having their head crack open was a different mess of trouble Maggie wasn’t to risk unless necessary. Making someone gasp for breath would give Maggie time to either get a crotch kick in or a few seconds head start at running away.

Jason was far more athletic than Maggie, both due to playing football and having trained in the Pit longer. Maggie couldn’t maintain a longer fight, and tapped out after getting thrown into a wall. The wall didn’t hurt as much as she thought it could’ve. Jason gave her a hand up, not at all smug about winning the match. He told the others to pair up and asked Alpha to toss Putties at them every few minutes.

“Okay, so, I can see your punch coming, which is fine against something slow and dumb like the Putties. But fighting someone with a brain and some skill is when that’s not gonna work for you.”

Maggie nodded and quickly saw what made Jason star quarterback and leader of the team. He wasn’t condescending. He taught her some basics, getting input from Trini and Kim because he understood guys and girls moved differently. Sure, he was still a teenager, but she could see how he managed to hold four other very different personalities together as friends instead of a group of people that got together to save the world and went their separate ways.

Hunger eventually drove them from the Pit and back into town. Maggie wasn’t nearly as annoyed and terrified of her power coin as she had been that morning. She had an explanation, albeit an out-of-this-world one. There was a very good chance she now had new friends that wouldn’t bail on her when shit got tough. And, if she was really lucky (and the world unlucky), she would get to pilot a mechanical dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guuuuys it's been weeks since I've seen the movie, lemme know if I'm doing good with the characterization pls and thx


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet me thinks. Aaannd I didn't wanna wait to get this beta read so y'all get a shit post

"You look like shit," Trini said as she dropped her tray across from Maggie. 

"Go suck a dick."

Kim caught Trini's shoulder before her teammate could start a fight. "Save it for the Pit. Jesus, you two are so full rage."

"Don't you know?" Zack asked after he swallowed a bite of food. "Their shortness puts them closer to Hell."

Kim took her hand off Trini. "And that will be an ass kicking you deserve."

Jason shook his head as Zack dodged tater tots. He instinctively looked up when he saw a football fly through the cafeteria. He took a brief look at his old team before focusing on his food.

"Do you miss it?" Kim asked.

Jason shrugged. "They weren't the worst guys around. They hung around for a week or so, after the accident. But when the doc said I couldn't play for the rest of the year..."

"Have you been to a game since?" Zack asked.

Jason shook his head. "One. Haven't felt up to just watching. And, you know, house arrest." He looked over at the table Billy was at, making sure all was well with their teammate. 

"Think we could get away with cheering for Stone Canyon next game?" Kim asked.

Jason chuckled and Zack protested about knowing nothing about football and how bored he would be. Trini was all for watching idiot guys knock each other around. Jason looked at the latest addition to their group. "Maggie?"

"I don't know, it's getting colder out. The cheerleaders wear more clothing in winter."

Zack started cackling, Kim sputtered about evening sea breezes and leaving something to the imagination, and Jason saw the way Trini was staring at Maggie in surprise. Jason heaved a disappointed sigh. "All that work we put into plays and practice, and you only show up to stare at the cheerleaders?"

"Hey!" Kim thumped his arm. "We work just as hard!"

The conversation devolved into an almost-food-fight, stopped only by Billy joining them, having finished his lunch. "What's going on?"

"None of them actually went to football games for school spirit," Jason told him. "They were there to stare at cheerleaders."

Billy shrugged. "I don't blame them. Kim is a lot better looking than you."

Jason buried his face in his hands as everyone laughed. As teammates, they were great. As friends, well, he could do with new ones.  
~*~  
Zack nudged Maggie as they headed to Billy's house after school. "So. You like girls?"

"That a problem?" Maggie asked, ready to punch Zack into a tree.

"Not at all!" He held up his hands in a show of peace. "Just checking my options for Winter Ball."

"You're full of shit."

He grinned. "That's why my eyes are brown."

She shoved him away and he laughed, hanging back to pull out his phone. He texted Trini, ahead of them with Billy and talking about math. [Now you know.]

[I don't need a wingman.]

[Maybe not, but now you can be sure.]

[Fine. Thanks.]

Zack grinned and didn't push the topic any further. He didn't think anything romantic would come out of his investigation, but Trini and Maggie could probably use the moral support from each other. And, honestly, he wanted to be sure himself. But then he watched as Trini slowed down to match Maggie's pace.

"Hey, those nightmares are still happening, right?"

"Every night. Only once a night, though, thank God."

"After homework, maybe we can see if you can pick up some yoga? Keeps me calm."

Maggie shrugged. "I'll try it, sure."

[That was smooth, crazy girl.]

[You're my sparring partner the next time we're in the Pit.]

Zack didn't mind at all. Who knew. Maybe their next enemy would be pint sized.  
~*~  
Maggie sat on the patio steps and stretched out her legs. "So. Zack. About as subtle as a flying brick."

Trini groaned as she lay on the grass. "I swear I didn't put him up to it."

"Yeah, he seems like a meddler. It's cool, though, if you wanna talk."

"Talking...sure."

Maggie shrugged. "Or not. Wouldn't have to hide from my aunt, anyway."

"Must be nice."

"I'm still not sure if she's actually okay with it, or if she's just not giving me shit since I haven't wrecked her house or my academic life."

Trini tilted her head up to look at her. "How'd she take you getting detention?"

"Once she found out it was because I knocked out a bully, she just told me not to get caught next time."

They laughed, and the conversation twisted and turned around their similarities and differences. Trini learned Maggie didn't go to football games just to stare; Maggie liked the camaraderie that didn't involve her having to actually interact with people. They were there to support their team, and everyone got along for a few hours. Maggie didn't speak about her parents or how she ended up in Angel Grove. She didn't want to talk it about, and it seemed like Trini had it worse. Maggie didn't know how she would've survived her father hating her openly for the last few years. At least, most days, she didn't have to think about it.

When her aunt stepped outside, the sun was touching the horizon. "Maggie, is your friend staying for dinner?"

"This is Trini, and I don't know." She looked at the other girl. "I swear, her cooking is actually great."

Trini smiled a little as she stood up. "I should probably get home for dinner since I haven't told my parents I'd be staying somewhere."

"Then we'll drive you home," Maggie's aunt offered.

"No, it's fine, really, I can walk."

But the woman wouldn't hear it. "The Lord and Maggie both know I'm no parent, but it'll be dark soon and even a town this quiet has problems. Besides, Maggie needs the practice."

Maggie rolled her eyes as she stood. "I'm going to pass the next time, really."

"Then practice should be simple."

Trini snagged her back off the deck table and smirked. "I'm failing my driving tests on purpose so Mom can't ask me to do everything."

Maggie led the way around the house. "Yellow lights are a problem." 

"Yellow lights are five seconds long. If you can't be in the intersection in five seconds, then stop."

"It can't be that easy."

"Try it. Find out."

And, well, yoga actually made Maggie feel calm and focused. So, maybe, Trini would right about the yellow lights, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seesawed so hard between mention Midvale and referencing Stone Canyon, but I didn't wanna get anyone's hopes up. Angel Grove will only ever see Maggie in this particular story...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta, we post at midnight like the crazies we are!

Maggie heaved in a breath and held it when she jolted awake from the nightmare. She let the breath out slowly, focusing on the green glow of her coin on the nightstand. Slowly counting her breaths eased the panic until she could move without rattling apart or breaking something. After getting a glass of water, she shrugged to herself and went through the basic yoga stances Trini had taught her. Focusing on something other than the way Rita had ripped through the former Pink Ranger settled her a lot more quickly than she would've thought. Snagging her phone, she tapped out a text in the Ranger's group chat. They all knew of the nightmares and new yoga lessons, so it was no big deal to thank Trini publicly.

Zack responded, asking if Maggie wanted to talk about it.

Maggie sat in the middle of her bed, shaking her head. [You should be asleep.]

[Pot, meet kettle.]

[I was rudely awakened, what's your excuse?]

[Forgot to mute my phone before going to sleep.]

Maggie wasn't sure if she believed him or not. [It's nothing, just the usual flashback to Rita being batshit crazy.]

[I hear ya. I don't have nightmares every night, but she fucked us up.]

Maggie remembered their tale and shivered. She still wasn't sure if she had it worse, or if they did because Rita had been an actual threat to them. [What do you think my Zord will look like? A European dragon with four legs and wings, or something like a Chinese dragon?]

[You really want a dragon that flies, don't you?]

[Yes.]

[Then I hope you end up with a sea serpent.]

[Asshole.]

[There's gotta be some way for all this shit to come out ;)]

[I'm going to do more yoga and think of pretty girls. I hope you dream something awesome and forget it when you wake up.]

[Just because you're so close to hell, doesn't mean you -have- to listen to the devil.]

[Your height only means God's a dick.]

[Will you both go to sleep?] Jason demanded. [My phone vibrated to the floor.]

[Dude, it's called a silent mode.] Zack's response make Maggie laugh until she remembered the time. She snapped her mouth shut and listened for her aunt. She wouldn't get in trouble for being awake, but her aunt would want to know what was so funny. She texted them goodnight and stretched a little before decided to try for more sleep. There wouldn't be anymore nightmares to worry about, just the flashes of death and destruction when she closed her eyes.

Maggie still wasn't sure the potential to be a superhero was worth the headache, but her new friends were starting to be rather effortless.  
~*~  
"What's up, Zordon?" Jason asked as they poured into the Grid room.

"The ship's long range sensors were recently brought online, and a new threat to the Zeo Crystal and Earth has been discovered to be on its way here."

"Let me guess," Zack said, "we only have eleven hours this time?"

"Lord Zedd and his ship, Serpenterra, are two weeks away," Alpha said. "The reports from the rest of Ranger Corps tell us he harvests Zeo Crystals after turning Rangers on each other."

Maggie crossed her arms. "And I already have one crazy ex-Ranger trying to drive me insane."

"That you have stood this long against Rita's lingering influence is a testament to your strength," Zordon told her.

"And you look like you actually sleep through the night these days," Trini said. "Instead of, you know, death warmed over."

Maggie mock glared at her. "I'm so kicking your ass in the Pit."

Trini smirked. "Bring it."

Kim stepped between them because as much as she knew they didn't mean it, she also didn't need them to start brawling at the drop of a hat. "Has anyone been able to kick Zedd off their planet?"

"Not without great cost," Zordon said.

"No pressure, then," Billy said.

"I may have doubted you before," Zordon said. "And while I won't say I know you will defeat him, I do know the odds you have faced in such short time may make you a force Lord Zedd doesn't anticipate."

Jason clapped Zack and Billy on the shoulder. "Let's get training, then." He opened his mouth when Trini and Maggie raced out of the room, but shook his head. "Kim, Zack, can the two of you...?"

"You just like Billy best," Zack teased as he jogged off.

"I'm starting to appreciate his sanity," Jason called out.

"Are you implying I'm crazy?" Kim asked, walking backwards out of the room.

"You jumped off two cliffs in two minutes," Billy pointed out.

Kim shrugged and didn't deny it before turning around and heading off after Zack.

Billy looked over at Jason. "You do realize I trespass and blow up rock walls for fun, right?"

"Yeah, but the reason behind it makes sense."

Billy stopped, mouth open, but unable to make a sound. 

"C'mon, Billy," Jason called from the stairway, "before you end up with Alpha as a sparring partner."

Billy grinned, shook his head, and jogged down the stairs before Alpha could catch up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I caught the worst of the typos? -shrug- I can haz feedback?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter. This chapter was difficult. 'Cause reasons. And I don't write this kind of stuff, usually. So. Here ya go.

Maggie wanted to hate herself for her own desperation, and blamed her damned hormones for her thoughts. Trini was her teammate, Trini was her friend. Trini couldn't risk any kind of interest or attention due to her mother. Hell, Maggie wasn't sure she should push her aunt. But her mind and chest and stomach didn't have the same reactions to Kim. 

"We don't have the power set things on fire with our eyes," Jason said, "even if the math book deserves it."

"I wanna kiss Trini." She muttered it, even if they were the only ones at his kitchen table. The others didn't have calculus that semester, so everyone was paired up by subject for the day. A bit more work got done if they weren't all around to distract each other.

Jason put his pencil down. "Is it a bad thing because she's a teammate?"

Maggie sighed. "Part of it. I feel like wanting to do that is kinda desperate."

"Because she's the only other girl you know who likes girls?"

"Well, the only other one who I can stand." Maggie knew of a handful of other classmates who were bi or lesbian, but they annoyed her in one way or another. "I don't know, I'm just stupid."

"Wanting to date someone you like isn't stupid."

"I don't like her like romantically. And it'd feel too convenient."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a lot of experience, but I'm pretty sure convenience it literally one of the main reasons people date each other. The love thing doesn't kick in until after you get to know someone."

"You're supposed to be talking me out of this."

"If you were going to bully Trini into it, yeah." He got up and refilled their glasses with water. "I can probably be more subtle than Zack if you want me to talk to her."

Maggie laughed. "All of us could be more subtle than Zack. I'll talk to her before the end of the week. After training."

He shook his head. "She only gets more ramped up with training, not exhausted."

"Yeah, but she does yoga after training. So I'll give her a bit to calm down and then talk to her."

"Want us to hang out at the fire pit?"

Maggie scrunched her face. "Maybe?" 

He nodded. "We can do that. And I don't know if Trini feels the same, but I'm pretty sure she won't hate you for telling her the truth."

Maggie grimaced. The last time she told a girl the truth about her feelings, she ended up in Angel Grove. She didn't tell Jason that, however, just picked up her pencil again. "Maybe I should wait until after we deal with Zedd, just in case."

"And maybe secrets will work a lot better in his favor than uncomfortable honesty."

She groaned. "God, I can see why you're the leader."

Jason chuckled and flipped his notebook around. "Does this make any sense to you?"

She glanced at the equation and shook her head. "Everything about that is wrong. Here..."

~*~

"Thank fuck I'm not the only one."

Maggie sagged in relief, then grinned. "Wait, you wanna kiss yourself?"

"I will throw you off this cliff." Trini sat, crossing her legs as she did so. "Why did you look like I was gonna hit you?"

"The last time I told a girl I liked her, I ended up in Angel Grove."

Trini just nodded and asked for no details. "I didn't wanna say anything because we're friends."

Maggie perked up. "Exactly! I don't want you to think I wanna kiss you just because you like girls, too."

"But it helps."

"Yeah. I'm not, like, falling for you or anything like that, but you're cute-"

"I'm -so- not cute. You're the cute one. I'm the badass one."

"Are you saying I'm not badass?"

"Which one of us can drive?"

Maggie fumed for a moment, then shrugged. "I can live with being cute."

Trini crooked her finger at Maggie. "So, wanna see if we even like kissing each other?"

Maggie blushed a little and moved to kneel in front of her. Trini shifted to her knees and closed the distance between them. There were no fireworks, their hearts didn't race. But they didn't feel rushed, scared, or worried. It felt good, it felt comfortable.

Then their phones dinged. 

"We're gonna have to beat Zack, aren't we?" Maggie asked as they decided to deal with the inevitable.

"I'm starting to think leaving him alone and letting the paranoia grow is a better revenge," Trini said, unlocking her phone.

[You're fucking adorable.]

Trini's reply was instantaneous and without thought. [Not yet, I'm not.]

Maggie turned beet red and they could hear the echoes across the valley as well as the messages in the texts.

[In the group chat, really?] Jason demanded.

[You both created this monster] Kim accused. 

Trini stole another kiss from Maggie before standing and hauling her up. "First one across gets dibs on Zack in the Pit."

Maggie took off, grabbing her bag on the way. Trini shouted in outrage before giving chase. Yeah, it wasn't dating in the traditional sense, but it might be something even better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you freakykaethe for the awesomeness!

Lord Zedd showed up on time, but instead of dropping an attack onto Angel Grove, he merely sat in orbit above the city.

"What is he waiting for?" Kim asked as they looked at the display.

"He is taking the time to study all of you," Zordon said.

"Can we attack him with the Zords?" Billy asked.

"Unfortunately the Mega Zord is neither flight capable nor space worthy."

"Sitting ducks," Trini muttered. "My favorite pastime."

Seeing what Serpentera looked like, Zack nudged Maggie. "I take back what I said about your Zord being a sea serpent."

Maggie snorted and shook her head. "Maybe I'll just claim Serpenterra as mine when we kick his ass."

Trini held up her hand for a high five and Maggie found her hand being held after their palms met. Jason asked if they were all up for a last bit of training and they headed for the Pit. Having Zedd floating above Earth had them riled up enough to need the energy outlet the Pit provided. After half an hour without the armor, Maggie sat to the side and watched her friends morph. It wasn't long before she was standing at the edge of the Pit, trying not to twist her hands together.

"What's up?" Jason asked when they took a step back for a water break.

"I think I should practice against one of you in the armor."

"I'm almost certain that'll hurt," Billy pointed out.

Maggie nodded. "But this is gonna go either one of two ways: Zedd's gonna use me to attack you because I don't have as strong a connection to the Morphing Grid, or he'll send one of you after me first because I don't have armor."

They looked uncomfortable with the thought, but they knew it was true. Maggie wasn't exactly pleased with her own thoughts. She was suddenly very terrified that death was just around the corner. It was too late to turn back now, however. Maggie would rather go down fighting, anyway, now that she lived in a place that was apparently going to see alien attacks more often than not.

Jason sighed and nodded. "Okay. But the moment it hurts too much, we stop."

Maggie agreed and stepped into the Pit. Sparring Jason with armor was going to suck, but it might just save her life.

~*~

Given that it was a Friday night, the Rangers arranged sleepovers so they could group together. Billy's mom was happy to have Zack and Jason over, and made sure to cook enough for Zack to take leftovers home. Kim's parents were just happy Kim had friends again, even if they didn't seem anything like Kim's old friends. The team knew that once school started up again they would have to face the night alone; but until then, they weren't going to make Zedd's life easy. 

Too bad Zedd wasn't one to hesitate at the sight of unity.

Maggie, Trini, and Kim were awoken from their sleep when they felt themselves moving. It was a tug at the base of their skulls, yanking up against gravity. They opened their eyes to dark red and black static surrounding them. They barely held back the cries of surprise that wanted to rip from their throats as they were dropped onto cold hard metal.

Lord Zedd loomed over them, red musculature and chrome exoskeleton looking both menacing and disgusting. Blood-red sparks leapt between the prongs of the twisted metal staff in his hand. His face mask didn't quite look like a Ranger helmet, but there were enough similarities to make the girls wonder just how many evils out in the galaxy were former Power Rangers.

To their left, a wide window showed North America's west coast hundreds of thousands of miles below them.

Kim was the first to stand and hauled her friends up the moment after her jaw dropped. She could already feel her armor erupting over her skin.

"No, don't do that, little Rangers," Zedd growled. "Not yet, anyway." 

Trini and Kim froze in calling on their powers and Maggie didn't dare protest when her friends shifted to put her safely behind them. 

"You see, this would be far more exciting if one of you,  _ willingly _ , brings me the Zeo Crystal as other Rangers have in the past.” He took a moment to study their faces before continuing. “Your entire planet will die, but whomever brings me the Zeo Crystal will be allowed the privilege of living."

"Yeah, right,” Trini scoffed.  “You're telling us all those other Rangers you let live haven't come after you for destroying their worlds?"

His casual shrug was downright terrifying. "Oh, they have. Rangers,”  he sneered at the title, distaste dripping in the gravel of his voice, “by themselves are merely nothing without their teams." His staff started to glow ominously as he waved it vaguely at the girls. "Now, which one of you three will kill the others?"

The girls didn't even need to check to make sure they weren't about to betray each other. There was no question, no doubt, in their minds. Not only were they teammates, but they were friends.

"So be it." Zedd snapped curtly as bolts of deep red lightning wrapped around Trini and yanked her away from Kim and Maggie faster than either could react. With a casual twist of his staff, he pinned the unarmored Ranger to the cold metal of the deck with the sharp edge of his staff pressed into the hollow of her neck. A thin line of blood beaded along her skin when she gasped for breath. "Now,” he purred, “which one of you two will kneel before me so this one may continue to live? Who will bring me the Zeo Crystal and destroy the Power Rangers?" 

Kim and Trini were already calling on their armor and Maggie felt relief as their powers started to envelope them.  

Zedd sent a powerful blast down his staff and directly into Trini, disrupting her ability to morph. "Lose the armor or she dies this instant!" He emphasized his point as he pushed the sharp edge of his staff harder into Trini’s bared neck.

Kim stopped morphing at the sight of the deeper cut on Trini's skin. The blood looked so much darker in the lighting of Serpentera than Maggie had ever seen before.

"Kick his ass, Kim!" Trini yelled through the pain, trying to sound tougher than she felt, but there was no hiding the tremble in her voice.

"I can't move fast enough to stop him from killing you,"  was all Kim could reply as she wavered in her fighting stance, trying to sort out their next move within the confined space.

Zedd’s voice was a sinister sound that sent shivers down their spines. “Only one of you need agree to the terms. I will return the other two without further harm.” His voice grew harsh and sharp. “Or I can kill you all now and leave your broken bodies for your teammates and families to find with the dawn!” His laughter filled the cockpit.

Maggie felt her legs moving before she could even think about it. There was no real choice. Zedd couldn't be allowed to kill Trini and Kim wouldn't risk Trini's life by attacking Zedd. She knew she wouldn’t be as much of a threat since she lacked armor, but she could save their lives in this way. The others already knew how to work together, knew how to deal with a Green Ranger working against them. Maggie would be as much a hindrance to Zedd's plans as she was to the team. Zedd wouldn’t have a "real" Ranger if she did this; her friends could easily stop her from retrieving the Zeo Crystal for him.

Kim grabbed for her but Maggie had learned how to twist out of grips long before she started training in the Pit. Trini's shouts of protest did nothing to stop Maggie as she hit her knees in front of Zedd. The act made her stomach twist, and bile rose in her throat. All she wanted was to knock her fists into Zedd's kneecaps, but this wasn't a fight two new Rangers and a useless Power Coin wielder were ever going to win.

Zedd lifted his staff from Trini's neck as if he had not been moments away from slashing her throat open. "I will destroy your world.” His tone was pleased, almost playful. “But first, I will keep my word." 

Trini and Kim were sent away in a blaze of red and black lightning before either could offer a reply. And suddenly Maggie was alone with Lord Zedd towering over her kneeling form.

"Morph, Green Ranger, and bring me my Zeo Crystal.”  Zedd waved his arm in a grand gesture toward the planet below as he spoke, in a tone that suggested he did not want to be kept waiting any longer.

Maggie smirked up at him. "I don't have a connection to the Grid.” The triumph in her voice rang out around her. “I. Can't. Morph." She was as useless to him as she was to the team, and now his little plan to pit them against each other would crash and burn.

"That,” he sneered as he loomed over her, catching the back of her neck in the bends of metal of his staff, “is easily remedied."

Maggie's face fell as his words rang in her ears. Red and black sparks filled her vision. Then her world narrowed to the sounds of her own screams.

~*~

The moment Kim and Trini landed in Kim’s bedroom, they grabbed Maggie and Trini’s overnight bags. Kim grabbed her keys, and they rolled her car out of the driveway before starting it and heading straight for the mines. Trini called Jason and was barely able to tell him what had happened, given the pressure Kim kept putting on the hand towel against Trini's throat. Jason had the other two guys up and moving before Trini could finish telling him Zedd had Maggie.

Dawn was barely lighting the sky as they leapt into the cold pool at the bottom of the ravine. They raced to the ship, where Alpha was waiting for them but with no news on Maggie. Kim told everyone what happened, not allowing Trini to speak even though her throat was mostly healed.

"Without a connection to the Morphing Grid," Zordon said, "we cannot be sure Maggie will be the same when she returns to Earth. Her mind lacks the protection of the Power, and can therefore be manipulated by being as powerful as Zedd. You must assume she's a threat until Alpha can use the ship's scanners to assess otherwise."

"We don't want to hurt her," Billy said. "What do we do if she attacks us?"

"We block her," Jason said. "We don't to hit back, we just need to keep her moving until she can't keep up the fight."

"What are we going to do if Zedd is controlling her?" Zack asked.

They refused to consider the idea that Maggie would willingly help a destroyer of worlds. 

"Once we're able to scan Maggie," Alpha said, "we should be able to figure out what kind of energy is necessary to counteract whatever Lord Zedd might have done."

Trini carefully felt her throat and sighed with relief when her fingers met mended skin. "It's been almost an hour."

Kim wrapped an arm around Trini, as did Zack on Trini's other side. It had been mere days since Trini and Maggie started sitting closely next to each other at school and holding hands when only the other Rangers could see. They all knew it was nothing serious, but they also knew just how much Trini and Maggie valued the safety they provided each other.

The Morphing Grid shifted and glowed ominously in warning. 

The Green Ranger was on Earth. Maggie, fully morphed, without any connection to them.

"This is bad," Billy’s voice cracked with worry. "Should Zedd have been able to do that?"

"I am unsure," Zordon said with enough confusion in his voice to concern the team. "It has never been documented in any of his previous attacks."

"She's at the sea cliffs north of the city," Alpha said after checking the source of Maggie’s signal.

Zack's eyes went wide. "The Dragon Zord. It never followed Rita from the ocean."

"Go, Rangers," Zordon ordered. "We will begin to run the necessary scans and formulate a way to free her from Zedd’s control."

Jason squeezed Trini's shoulder briefly before they moved to their respective platforms. "It's morphing time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 chapters in and I finally get around to the Evil Green Ranger bit. Makes ya wonder how long it'll take for me to actually get to Supergirl, huh? ;)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ::insert hand wave-y Ranger science here::
> 
> Also, y'all should check out chapter 10 again. My bestie fixed it up tons. I think it's a lot better than it was.

Maggie really wished being mind-controlled was the same as being hypnotized. As her body moved without her consent, she remembered a harvest festival she went to as a kid. There had been a hypnotist from one of the bigger cities, walking through the crowd between performances and offering to make boyfriends act like chickens. Maggie and her friends had nearly mobbed the man to get him to hypnotize the four of them. It had worked like a charm.  
   
On the rest of her friends.  
   
Maggie had walked away from the hypnotist a disappointed nine-year-old. Her mother had said it was because Maggie's mind was strong and unable to be easily influenced. Maggie had been content to believe that explanation for years.  
   
Maybe the hypnotist just wasn't powerful enough. Maybe Maggie was weaker mentally now than she had been as a kid. Her life had gotten shitty enough; between being tossed out by her parents, going a couple years without any friends whatsoever, and Rita's twisted memories tormenting her sleep, Maggie wasn't really surprised she couldn't stop an evil overlord from taking control of her.  
   
So far, Trini and the others weren't anywhere to be seen. So far, her mission was only to summon her Zord, not kill her friends or dig up the Zeo Crystal. So far, there was still a chance Zordon could figure out a way for the Rangers to free her.  
   
Standing on the edge of a high cliff overlooking the expanse of the Pacific, Maggie felt the same chills she had a couple weeks ago on the top of the mountain. So much was hidden within the sea. Including her Zord.  
   
The wicked dagger at her hip was also some kind of energy flute. Zedd had explained very little. His attack on her mind had forced a reaction from her Power Coin, causing her armor to surround her in order to protect her body from the damage caused by the angry lightning and sharp edges. But his control was already embedded in her mind in the short time it had taken for the green armor to cover her from head to toe. He had handed her the dagger and told her it would pierce Ranger armor as well as help bind her Zord to her control alone. The simple notes she was to play would be at a frequency the other Rangers would be unable to interrupt.  
   
Maggie no longer wanted her Zord if it meant her friends would get hurt.  
   
The ocean breeze was refreshing as her face mask faded away. After the cold metallic tang of Serpentera, the salt air tasted like a living thing. The dagger-flute she raised to her lips made them tingle. The six notes she played seemed to steal the air from her lungs as it echoed across the water. Maggie remembered what Zack said about being in his Zord; it felt like a part of him, like he was connected to it in that everything was intuitive. Maggie had a feeling she wasn't about to experience the same euphoria.  
   
The whole world seemed to go quiet for a long moment after the last note faded. Her body heaved air into her empty lungs. The ocean suddenly grew louder as something large and dark came towards her just under the surface. When her Zord broke through the water, Maggie knew she didn't just get any dragon.  
   
Her Zord was friggin' Godzilla.  
   
If she wasn't about to make an attempt at destroying Earth, she'd find that extremely awesome.  
   
"Maggie!" The call rang in her ears, echoing like a church bell across her thoughts, a heavy weight upon her chest.  
   
Her body didn't turn to acknowledge Trini's voice. Her face didn't so much as twitch. She could hear the others running towards her, could hear them all calling her name as her knees bent. She could almost feel the energy surge through her, and then she was leaping towards the Dragon Zord. Two moments later, she was in the cockpit. Then she was targeting her team on the cliffside.  
   
Then she was firing on them with no hesitation. She could see the ground at their feet exploding with each blast. Each bolt was a jolt to her conscience as she put her friends lives in danger, unable to stop her body from moving on its own.  
   
And though her throat wasn't her own and she was locked within her mind, Maggie screamed in total agony, her fingers still locked tight around the triggers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice a change in style, it's because my best friend and roommate is now beta-reading. She's beyond awesome, and she'd like to know what y'all think :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ::Unexpected minions show up because I wanted to give Zedd something "unique", since in the series he just upgrades Rita's putties. It's been 65 million years and in my timeline, Rita and Zedd never met.::

Trini was trying very hard not to panic. She was struggling to keep her hands steady on her controls, to maintain her trust in her team, to refrain from just ripping the Dragon Zord to pieces. She took comfort in that the fighting wasn’t in Angel Grove; they didn't have to worry about innocent people or buildings. Sure, the battle was tearing up the valley, but at least they were the only ones at risk.

The Dragon Zord was a beast of a Zord. As tall as Jason's T-Rex, it was heavily armored and had a drill at the tip of its’ tail. Even with five Zords against just one, Maggie was putting up a hell of a fight. Zack and Billy learned the hard way the drill tip made a excellent battering ram. Kim was spending more time than not dodging heat seeking missiles. Maggie was trying to kill them with every attack while the team had to hold back to avoid hurting her. Jason wasn’t sure they could avoid creating the Mega Zord given how rough the battle was getting.

Trini knew the team wasn’t expecting this. Trini had been prepared for Maggie to say horrible, hurtful things while under Zedd's influence, not utterly ignoring their calls to her. Trini knew the others had been ready for Maggie to make an attempt at getting into the ship, or maybe trying to kill them in their sleep. None of them were ready for a massive battle against their friend, they weren't prepared for Maggie to be able to morph and already be on their level.

Trini guided her Saber-tooth Tiger Zord to leap at the swinging tail and bit down just below the drill tip. The Dragon Zord wasn't strong enough to simply yank free, and it didn't have the maneuverability to turn around while blocked in by the guys. Zack took the chance to bowl the Dragon Zord over with a direct charge from his own Zord. The crash shook the ground beneath them all. Trini didn't release her Zord's hold on the still whirling tail-drill as Jason desperately pleaded with Maggie to surrender.

Angry sparks of blood-red lightning suddenly surrounded the Dragon Zord. Before the Rangers realized what was happening, Lord Zedd had made the Zord and Maggie vanish from sight.  
~*~  
"How did Zedd take Maggie and the Dragon Zord away?" Kim all but yelled in frustration when they were back in the buried ship.

"Teleportation technology," Zordon said remorsefully. "We've not yet been able to upgrade the ship’s systems to use it."

It was a jarring reminder that while Alpha, the Zords, and the mere existence of a space ship was highly advanced to the team, all of it was sixty five million years out of date.

"Most of the ship's energy has been going into shielding the Zeo Crystal," Alpha said. "While I have been keeping track of the latest news in the Ranger Corps, I've only created designs for how some changes may possibly be achieved."

"Where's Maggie now?" Zack asked hesitantly, wanting to know the answer but certain he wouldn’t like it.

"She is not currently on Earth." Zordan's words echoed through the room and their heads. “Zedd has brought her back to Serpentera.”

Jason ran a hand through his hair and took a deep, steadying breath. "Let's go grab something to eat, guys. We’ll need fuel if we're going to able to save her." He started to shoo the team out the door before any of them could offer protest. He started to call back over his shoulder just before leaving, "Alpha, Zordon, the moment you have something-"

"We'll let you know," Alpha said with a nod.

~*~

Maggie found herself in an unfamiliar part of Serpentera when the teleportation beam faded away. Lord Zedd stood before her, utterly menacing in the limited lighting of the corridor. His hefty staff glowed faintly as it gently kissed her forehead. Suddenly, her entire body ached deep down into her bones and Maggie had to lock her knees to keep from tumbling to the floor in agony. Lord Zedd chuckled with sadistic delight as he turned his back to her and began to casually stroll down the corridor they were in toward some unspoken destination. "Come, my Ranger," he beckoned her like some kind of pet, curling a finger at her over his shoulder.

Maggie gritted her teeth and scowled at his back. She clutched the hilt of the dagger hanging at her hip with her right hand. She charged at Zedd’s broad red back with every intention of stabbing him square between the shoulders.

Six inches. The tip of the dagger was still six inches away from her target when she slammed into some kind of invisible shield. She was sent sprawling backwards, landing hard on her back.

Lord Zedd tisked his tongue. He shook his head without looking back at the Green Ranger now panting on the floor behind him. “You are only in control of your body because I allow it. You are still under my power.”

Maggie's hand clenched around the dagger without her direction, and brought said dagger up in front of her own face, before suddenly plunging down toward her own belly. The tip stopped just a bare inch from penetrating her; and just as suddenly her body once again moved with her own will.

After a moment to recollect herself, Maggie pushed herself up to her feet and slowly skulked after him. “Then why bother letting me have this much control?” Her body continued to ache and protest each movement; nothing she hadn't experienced after a rough session in the Pit, but at least that had been her own choice to continue.

“Your feeble attempts at stopping me are arousing.” His tone was almost conversational as his staff echoed through the hall every time is struck the metal beneath their feet. “And while I have heard the pleas of dozens of Rangers begging for their lives and their worlds; I do enjoy pointing out how no Ranger has ever succeeded in convincing me to leave their planet in peace.”

“Then I won’t waste my breath.” Maggie was pretty sure she couldn’t convince someone who controlled minds. He could just silence her if he decided he was tired of listening to her. Instead, she focused on ignoring the throbbing ache between her shoulder blades where her Zord had been connected to her. “But you didn’t yank me out of that battle for no reason.”

“I want your little friends weary and troubled with worry about what I’m doing to you, and what is to come.” Lord Zedd nearly purred with his excitement.” I want their desperation to protect the Zeo Crystal to war with their desire to see you free; until either you kill them, or they kill you.” It was obvious the entire thing was just a game to him, and he wanted to prolong the battle simply for his own amusement.

Maggie looked down at the dagger in her hands and wondered, for just a moment, if she had the ability to push the blade between her own ribs. It would allow the others to focus on the Crystal alone instead of just her. As much as she wanted to believe her friends would win this fight as they did against Rita, she had to face the very harsh reality that Rita had been crazy and desperate and Zedd knew what he was doing.

She put the dagger away. Not yet. She could give her friends a little more time.

The hallway opened up to a room that must have taken up a whole section of the segmented ship. The dim red lights brightened all at once to reveal hundreds of feathered bodies. Maggie clenched her fists to keep them from shaking as Zedd pointed his staff at the nearest cluster of three dozen.

“These are my Tengu Warriors,” Zedd introduced as lightning bolts struck the birds. “They only follow those who have proven their superiority in battle.”

Maggie was so very relieved her face was hidden behind her visor as the group of Tengu focused their glowing red eyes on her.

“You can either prove yourself to them, or they can deliver your corpse to your home.” He turned and headed back down the hall.

Maggie had two choices as the Tengu started to circle her. She could let them kill her and end the problem she presented. She knew it would likely be a painful, drawn out process. Or she could fight. She could be the Ranger she wanted to be, prove she deserved the Power Coin. She would have another chance at either stopping Zedd or being freed to fight alongside her friends.

She hadn’t survived life this long by just giving up.

Two Tengu charged her from either side. She drew her dagger and fell into a fighting position. If she was going down, she would take as many of them with her as possible.

~*~

An hour later, Maggie was relieved she wasn't leading an all out attack on Angel Grove as Rita had done. But on the other hand, Maggie was now barely a mile from the cave and ship with minions in the form of large fighting birds. Fortunately for Maggie's friends, the Tengu were neither smart nor difficult to defeat. The Tengu were just as numerous as bird shit on a car under the wrong tree.

Maggie wanted to fight the mind control. She wanted to break free. But she was just floating in her own head. There was nothing to push against, nothing to fight. All she had was an empty space in her mind where she could hear and see everything her body was doing. She supposed she should be relieved she couldn't ~feel~ the beating her body was taking over the last six hours.

Maggie sat in her mind and wondered just how long her friends would stay on the defensive when it came to her. Her body was trying to kill them. If the dagger was buried into them, it would kill its victim by ripping their power out. The grazes her controlled body had already landed stained the other Rangers’ armor with blood. She could only hope the wounds would heal as quickly as anything else they suffered in the past.

Jason and Trini finally had her pinned to the ground. Within her mind, Maggie jumped for joy, hopeful her friends had a plan that would free her from this wretched torment.

"Maggie, I hope you're in there," Trini said as Jason struggled to keep Maggie down and still. "We're gonna free you. Just hold on." Trini's sounded so desperate as she pleaded with Maggie's struggling body. "Please still be in there," she absent-mindedly murmured her thoughts.

Four Tengu tackled the duo off of Maggie. Within seconds her body hopped back up onto her feet and menacingly stalked towards her dazed friends like a predator going in for the kill. Maggie didn't have eyes that would close as the dagger glinted in the afternoon sun. She couldn’t look away from what her body was about to do. She was almost in reach of Jason when a Tengu landed on top of her, the minon had been kicked in her direction by Zack. Maggie felt relief as her body was crushed under two more minions from a well placed attack by Billy. The others started to knock more Tengu at Maggie. If the team’s strikes didn't end them, landing on her dagger certainly did. The spell meant Maggie's body didn't care about the Tengu; she was destroying them left and right along with the other Rangers. To anyone who didn’t know the Green Ranger was evil, the Rangers could have still passed as a complete team.

When Kim managed an attack from behind, Maggie’s was quick to counter with a well placed swipe of the dagger across Kim's belly. Kim screamed in pain and backed away with her arms cradling the gushing wound. Blood poured from her stomach and Maggie could do nothing but watch as the patch dirt beneath Kim turned to red tinted mud. Billy and Zack immediately put themselves between Kim and Maggie, successfully kicking Maggie over the body to a Tengu. The dagger, now slick with blood, and her body finally nearing exhaustion, made her grip on the weapon fail when her hand hit the ground.

For a brief moment, Maggie felt the physical exhaustion deep within her bones. For that moment, the ache in her ribs where Jason had hit her with his sword speared straight into her brain. And for just a single moment, Maggie felt dizzy as her struggling lungs tried to heave air.

But as quickly as the sensation of control came, it was gone agian. She felt numb once again as her eyes focused on the blur of yellow armor coming down from the sky. Maggie’s real eyes watered as her facemask vanished and dust from the battle found her face. Her hands raised, open and shaking, and her voice spoke the words that made inner Maggie want to hurl.

“Trini! Trini wait!” The first words Maggie had spoken since being taken over, and they were not her own. Within her mind, Maggie could do nothing but watch in complete horror as the events unfolded.

Trini landed on the ground around Maggie instead of on top of her. Trini's visor vanished instantly. "Maggie?" Her voice was soft, concerned and hesitant, but yearning to believe.

Maggie had nothing to rage against as Zedd’s control continued moved her lips. “It’s me. I’m me. The dagger-” Inside, Maggie was sure she was going to give herself an aneurysm.

“We need to get outta here!” Jason ordered, having hauled Kim up into his arms while Zack and Billy kept the Tengu at bay.

Trini helped the Green Ranger to her feet and Maggie wanted to make her body stutter just enough to make Trini feel some kind of doubt. Instead, they were all running for the cave and the ship a mile away. The shield around the Zeo Crystal would hold against the Tengu at least. If Zedd decided to do the job himself, Maggie’s friends would have to face him whether or not they were ready.

Alpha was waiting for them at the entrance of the ship. He let Jason and Kim by without comment, but his arms extended past Zack and Billy to slam Maggie back into the Pit as soon as she was close enough.

“What the hell, Alpha?!” Trini demanded, quickly turning to help Maggie back up again.

Alpha was quick yet gentle to hold her back. “No, Master Trini! The energy signature around Master Maggie has not changed. Zedd still controls her!”

Trini didn’t want to believe him, but she had to trust him to know what he was talking about. She hesitated at the edge of the Pit, Billy’s hand on her shoulder and Zack ready for another fight next to her.

“It’s just going to take a bit for what Lord Zedd did to fade,” Maggie’s voice insisted even as she sat in her mind feeling a brief relief that her friends were temporarily safe from her treacherous body.

“Just as Zedd’s control was quick to establish,” Alpha said, “it is as quick to leave. You won’t be allowed entrance, Zedd!”

“Why bother trying to trick us?” Zack demanded, his voice betraying his hurt and anger. His hands curled into outraged fists at his sides as he worried about Kim and Maggie and the fate of the entire world without really processing what was going on around them in that moment. Normal teenagers got to worry about pimples, and date nights, and here they were fighting for their lives, for everyone's lives, and no one would know if they succeeded or if they failed.

Maggie’s body shrugged her shoulders as the dagger reappeared in her hand in a blaze of blood-red sparks. “It would’ve been easier to kill you all while your backs were turned.” The voice that was, but was not, her own laughed as her fingers twirled the blade around her hand, putting the dagger into a clearly back-stab reference position.

The thing about the Pit was that it was programmed to attack Rangers. It didn’t matter if those Rangers were Good or Evil. Alpha was quick to activate the absolute worst of the training programs. Trini had to bite back a scream as some beast of half solid lava swung at the Green Ranger and sent Maggie flying into a wall on the other side of the cavern.

Maggie watched her vision blur and spot along the edges as her body pushed itself up. She could hear herself struggling to breathe, and as much as Maggie was relieved Alpha kept her friends safe, she knew the price was probably one of her lungs and maybe all of her ribs. The lava beast took a menacing step forward. The Green Ranger took several steps back.

She headed back towards the entrance of the cave as quickly as possible. As she leapt up into the pool, she knew the coughed up splatter on the inside of her visor was her own blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Bestie would again like to hear what y'all think, please and thank you C:


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No grammar beta on this, just a few pointers from an awesome duck.

"Why isn’t there a way to keep the bad guys away from the ship?" Billy asked when he stumbled into the infirmary with Trini and Zack trailing behind him.  
   
“There are measures in place,” Zordan answered. “However, anyone with a Power Coin can entered the main cavern.”  
   
“So now what?” Kim asked softly from the medical bed she was on. She still wore her bloody shirt, pushed up just enough to reveal the shiny new scar on her skin. She reached out for Trini, knowing her friend was holding back far more fear and anger than she was displaying.  
   
Trini crossed her arms, but Zack nudged her over to Kim’s bed before Trini could settle elsewhere. Trini huffed but slid her fingers into Kim’s. They squeezed each other’s hand hard, but said nothing more.  
   
"The dagger which locks the Dragon Zord to her powers is also channeling Lord Zedd's control," Alpha said. "The dagger must be destroyed."  
   
"Can we even touch it?" Zack asked as he sagged against the wall with the open med-kit. "That thing slides through our armor like it's not there." He waited for the adrenaline rush to stop shaking his hands before reaching for some disinfectant and bandages. Their powers would heal him soon enough, but that was no reason to ignore the blood leaking from his body.  
   
"It will be unpleasant for you to hold,” Zordon said. "But it won't allow Lord Zedd to control you as well."  
   
Jason handed Kim another damp cloth to wipe up the drying blood on her skin. He took off the bloody gloves and tossed them in the small incinerator before sagging into a chair next to Kim’s bed. "You'll live," he said, squeezing her shoulder.  
   
Kim sat up with a grimace and Trini’s help. "Good thing I'm not planning on losing any more blood this month."  
   
Trini snorted tiredly and the guys sighed in exasperation. Billy brought Kim a new water bottle and she drained most of it in one go. Zack finished patching up his arm before nudging Trini to sit behind Kim so her shoulder could be looked at properly. Trini glared at nothing in particular as she sat still for him.  
   
"We need to check in with our parents before it gets too late," Jason said with a sigh. "It's Saturday, we could pull off another sleep over."  
   
Trini gently elbowed Kim. "You'll have to spend the night at my place, or my mom'll think we're not leaving enough room for Jesus between us."  
   
Kim's laugh was cut short when her stomach ached at the sudden movement. "Sure. I'll even say something about Jason being my boyfriend."  
   
"I don't know if that's helpful," Jason said, amused but not bothered at being used to keep Trini's mom off her back.  
   
Kim shrugged carefully. "Reckless boy will explain why I'm friends with Trini."  
   
"I'm not reckless!" both Yellow and Red Rangers yelled at the same time.  
   
Billy passed out protein bars Zack had stored in the infirmary. "You all realize we took a flying leap over a small canyon, right?"  
   
Zack raised his hand as he finished with Trini's shoulder. "I know I'm crazy. And it's a clear night if you guys wanna hang at my place."  
   
Jason and Billy agreed to spending the night at the trailer. Zack's mom knew stories of the constellations, and she didn't need to see them to tell their tales over a walkie talkie. Sometimes Zack had to figure out a proper translation for an idea or word. Trini and Kim quickly raised eyebrows at each other, wanting in on any of his mom's story telling.  
   
"If we take enough pictures of all of us," Trini mused as she rolled her shoulders, "my parents won't freak out about technically being at a boy's house."  
   
Billy frowned, confused. "Wouldn't they be more relieved you're at Zack's than Kim's?"  
   
Trini huffed in annoyance. "They think I'm confused about what I want and will think I'll experiment with whoever's available." She took a large bite out of the protein bar before slipping off the bed. She tugged at Kim’s arm. “C’mon. Between what’s in my bag and Maggie’s, we’ll have something for you to wear.”  
   
Kim stood carefully, aching but not in pain. They grabbed the two overnight bags from the Grid room before heading down the hall a bit more. There were living quarters on the ship, but the teens hadn’t made much use of them. Kim sagged into the desk chair while Trini crossed her legs on the bed pallet with the backpacks. Trini tossed one of her own baggy flannel shirts at Kim before tugging Maggie’s bag open.  
   
Kim groaned a little as she worked her ripped and bloody shirt over her head. After buttoning up the borrowed shirt, she looked up at Trini and saw her staring into Maggie’s bag. Kim stood slowly and sat next to Trini, saying nothing. Kim knew Trini didn’t want to hear any of the trite things coming to mind.  
   
“We’re not even actually dating,” Trini muttered, fists tightening around the shirt. “Why am I feeling this way?” Sure, she had been with someone before, but that had been some kind of real relationship. It wasn’t just hand holding and stupid cuddles where no one outside the team could see. It wasn’t supposed to be serious.  
   
Kim had no idea what, exactly, Trini was feeling, but she didn’t need to ask to know it was confusing. “Just because you’re not in love or whatever doesn’t mean you don’t care about her differently than you do the rest of us. You’re allowed to be worried about what she might do or say under Zedd’s control.”  
   
“It’s barely been a week. I shouldn’t care about someone so much after a week.” Trini ignored being close to vomiting after Billy died. That was different. It was. Really.  
   
“Why not?” Kim kept her voice calm, not challenging. “Why is it so bad to care about Maggie so much?”  
   
“Because what does it matter?” Trini tugged the backpack in her lap closed, being gentle even as she glared down at it. “We’re just going to graduate and get out of here as soon as we can.” She didn’t have too much of an idea as to -how- she’d go about doing that, but she sure as shit wasn’t sticking around her parent’s house if she could avoid it.  
   
“And if we don’t? Graduate or get out? Just because we beat Rita doesn’t mean any of this,” she wave a hand around them, “is going to get easier or go away. I’m not saying Maggie’s it for you, but she might be the only safe option for a while. And there’s nothing wrong in wanting that.”  
   
Trini lay down on the cool metal of the pallet, hugging Maggie’s bag to her chest. “Oh my God, I thought you were a cheerleader, not a counselor.”  
   
“I was a cheerleader,” Kim agreed, “and that meant dealing with a bunch of the squad’s boy troubles.” She shrugged. “And, you know, dealing with my own for a bit.”  
   
“So hearing you punched Ty was kinda hot.” There was nothing she could do about her feelings, really, so she was done with talking about them.  
   
Kim sighed and pat Trini’s knee. “You are so violent.”  
   
“Says the one who was punching people before we got powers.”  
   
Kim knew their little discussion about emotions was over for the moment. Which was fine, Trini knew Kim was here for her and that was what mattered at the moment. She picked up the abandoned protein bar and waved it in Trini’s face. “Finish this.”  
   
“Oh, you’re not going to try to steal this from me, too?” Trini took the bar as she sat back up.  
   
“It’s not fun taking food from someone who won’t fight back.”  
   
Through a mouth full of food, Trini asked, “Excuse you? I have fight in me still.”  
   
“Save your energy for killing Zedd.”  
   
A low, warning hum started to fill the ship, causing the two teens to get to their feet.  
   
"Lord Zedd and Maggie have arrived at the Zeo Crystal’s site in the valley," Zordon told them as they left the room.  
   
They met the boys in the Grid room, where Jason told them they had a plan.  
   
“We start with destroying the dagger,” he said as they made their way to their platforms. “Maggie’s still connected to the Morphing Grid, so we can try using our own connections to overwhelm the hold Zedd has on her.”  
   
“It would be best if we all did it at the same time,” Billy said. “Zedd can’t overpower all of us at once. That’s why he has to pick one Ranger to betray the others.”  
   
Jason looked at Trini with careful concern. “We might have to hurt Maggie a lot to get her to stay still long enough. If you want to use your Zord to distract Zedd-”  
   
Trini shook her head. “I can fight Maggie.” She didn’t want to, but she wasn’t going to let them keep her “safe.”  
   
“I know that,” Jason said, not doubting her resolve. “But you gotta think about what Maggie’s gonna feel if she hurts you.”  
   
“I won’t let her. You guys won’t let her, either.” She knew they weren’t going to let what happened to Kim happen to anyone else. It had been too close a call for them to survive a second time around.  
   
Zack volunteered to play cat and mouse with Lord Zedd. Billy promised to stick to Trini’s side. With a plan in place, they morphed and headed out to save their friend and the world.  
   
~*~  
   
Maggie was terrified and hopeful as the Tengu dug into the ground where the Zeo Crystal rested. Lord Zedd almost seemed to be leaning on his staff after attacking the shield protecting the Zeo Crystal. Maggie was suspicious as to why Lord Zedd wasn't using Sernpentera like Rita had used Goldar. But with Lord Zedd now on the ground, her friends would be coming, and she knew they would have to choose between her and Earth.  
   
But if Lord Zedd did to the others what was done to her...  
   
The team crested a hill, the afternoon sun reflecting off their clean, untouched armor. Maggie was relieved their injuries were temporary. Half the Tengu charged, Maggie's body leading. Her friends met them half way between the hill and the Crystal’s resting place.  
   
Their strategy was obviously different the moment Maggie made contact with Jason. For one, he hit her. Hard. Sent her sprawling back against a Tengu or two. Billy’s fist landed on Maggie's shoulder as Maggie got up, putting her back on the ground. Kim’s kick caught Maggie's elbow and the low thunk that vibrated up her arm made Maggie wonder if her elbow was broken.  
   
The dagger fell from her limp fingers.  
   
Maggie felt exhausted. She also felt excruciating pain. Oh, yeah, her elbow was broken.  
   
Jason tackled her to the ground. Maggie felt light headed as she took the full force of a Ranger fight for the first time.  
   
"Maggie, you in there?" Jason asked, one of his arms pressing hard across her collarbone.  
   
A blast of blood-red lightning sent him flying off her. The dagger was in her good hand a moment later. She was on her feet, no longer feeling pain as Lord Zedd's control took hold once more. Maggie ran full tilt at Jason's sprawled form, Tengu keeping the way clear for her. Being so focused on Jason meant she wasn't keeping track of the other Rangers.  
   
Trini punched Maggie in the back of the head. As Maggie turned, Billy tripped her by tangling his legs with her's. On the ground again, Maggie slashed the dagger at Billy. Trini was on Maggie just in time, one hand wrapped around Maggie's wrist and the other around the fist holding the dagger.  
   
The ground shook as Zack used his Zord to distract Lord Zedd. Maggie's body turned the dagger on Trini. Seeing Trini’s arms shake with the effort to keep Maggie’s pinned down was making Maggie dizzy with fear. The dagger was aimed at Trini’s heart. That wasn’t an injury Trini would recover from. Maggie would turn the dagger on herself if she killed Trini, or any of them. But as much as Maggie tried, Lord Zedd’s control didn’t give, and nothing changed in the cage of her mind.  
   
Kim and Jason were moving around the trio on the ground, keeping Tengu away. And even if Maggie wasn't feeling the physical battle, even if her body was ignoring the beating, pain was still something that existed. Billy only had to nudge Maggie's broken elbow to send a spasm through her body. The momentary flailing of her nervous system was enough to weaken her grasp on the dagger.  
   
Trini's hands pinned Maggie's arm, the dagger between their palms. "Billy!"  
   
He reached up and slammed his own hand on top of Trini's. His leg’s tightened around Maggie’s when her body tried to kick him off. Maggie didn’t know what they were doing, but she knew it had to be a way of destroying Lord Zedd’s control of her.  
   
Jason called for Zack as Kim laced her fingers between Billy and Trini's. Zack was with them a moment later, digging his hand under Maggie's. Jason swung his sword in a wide circle, power blasting the Tengu around them, before planting his hand on top of the pile.  
   
Days of reaching for the Morphing Grid, of reaching into themselves, made channelling their power easier than they thought. They could feel the resistance in the dagger, could feel the evil crawl of Lord Zedd’s evil as their energy seemed to seek it out. They could sense the Green Ranger powers, too, but it seemed hollow, lessened. It was a haunting feeling, knowing Maggie wasn’t there.  
   
The glow of colors that exploded from the Grid in their armor was blinding and quick. The dagger shivered and hummed before shattering. The explosion sent them all sprawling away from each other. A few of the closer Tengu were annihilated in the blast of power.  
   
Heaving air into her aching lungs preoccupied Maggie for moment, before her broken arm made her scream.  
   
"Maggie!" Trini was scrambling towards her, visor fading as she crashed to her knees beside Maggie’s shaking body. "Holy shit don't look at your arm." Trini felt queasy at the sight of the awkward angle. Kim had done a good job, but Trini was worried the Green armor was all that was keeping the bones in Maggie’s arm.  
   
"Not helpful," Maggie ground out as she tried and failed to hold back the tears of agony. Her muscles were on fire and her stomach was empty enough to make bile rise in her throat. She could barely see through the tears or breathe through the pain.  
   
Kim leapt into her summoned Zord and cleared a cluster of Tengu so she could bring the Pterodactyl in low to the ground. Her hands shook on the controls, hoping Billy and Zack could keep Lord Zedd occupied long enough.  
   
Jason told Maggie to stop trying to stay conscious. “You’re stressed enough. We’ve got you.”  
   
“I’m scared,” Maggie whined as he lifted her in his arms. “If I wake up in my own head again…”  
   
“Not gonna happen. This is gonna hurt.” He leapt up onto the pink Zord as Kim opened her cockpit roof. His stomach twisted at the sound of Maggie’s strangled scream as the G-force pulled on her broken bones.  
   
Kim lifted her arms so Jason could set Maggie in her lap. It was a tight fit, but the controls adjusted to fit back into Kim’s hands when she reached for them. Jason leapt back down and Kim turned her Zord around as the hatch closed. The straight shot to the ship took mere seconds, but Maggie passed out before Kim could land inside the cave.  
   
When the T-Rex came charging into the battle, Lord Zedd decided to try again after he recovered from the backlash of his hold being broken. It wasn’t as if the children would recover before him. Besides, after what his control of the Green Ranger had wrought, the team wouldn’t be able to morph.


	14. Chapter 14

Trini fought back the bile rising in her throat when the Green Ranger armor faded away. Maggie's mangled elbow was a grotesque, twisted sight. The tight fit of the armor had kept Maggie’s bones beneath her skin. Kim grabbed Trini's hand and whispered apologies over and over again. Trini shook her head and squeezed Kim's hand tightly. "You did what you had to do."

Kim sighed. "It still doesn't feel like the right thing."

Jason helped Alpha, having picked up odds bits of medical knowledge on the football field and during his time in the hospital. Zack was at Jason's side, with the knowledge he gained from caring for his mother. Alpha still did most of the work, and didn't necessarily need the extra hands given his reach. Giving the Rangers something to do, however, tended to keep their heart-rates and stress levels down.

"Zedd's influence has been completely eradicated from Maggie's mind," Zordon said, his voice almost comforting. "The Morphing Grid won’t allow her to be controlled ever again."

"Why didn't the Grid stop this to begin with?" Trini demanded. She was proud of how her voice didn’t break or give away her worry.

"The Power Coins adapt only to what their Rangers encounter." Zordon kept his voice even, knowing the teen's emotions were running high. "Though Rita turned on my team, she did so of her own free will."

"I’ll be able to accelerate the healing of her physical injuries," Alpha said as he ran a thin, glowing blue rod over Maggie's broken arm. "Her mental recovery, however, will be up to you, as well as herself."

"We'll get her through this," Jason said, his voice sure and firm.

Billy slipped out of the infirmary, only noticed by Kim. He found the two bags of clothes and brought them back to the others. "She'll probably want to change clothes when she wakes up."

Trini thanked him with a small smile, hugging Maggie's backpack with one arm, her other hand still clutching Kim's. Her mind swirled with everything Maggie was going have to face over the coming weeks. Not just the mind control, but the way they almost killed each other, the repercussions of trying to destroy the world, what Zedd must have said and done-

Trini's stomach twisted. Kim took a deep breath against the pain of Trini squeezing her hand harder for a moment. Trini shut her eyes and knew she would have to ask Maggie in private. It wasn't something the team should hear, just in case it was something Maggie didn't want known.

"Should one of us stick around when Zedd comes back?" Zack asked. "So Sleeping Beauty doesn't wake up alone?"

Trini aimed a half-hearted kick at Zack's shin. She appreciated the sentiment and knew none of them would be surprised if she volunteered. Staying behind wasn’t an option when she had the chance to turn Lord Zedd into dust or a fine red mist.

  ~

 "I suppose you think driving her insane would've worked!"

"There would have been no control to be broken if she accepted evil herself!"

Maggie wanted to get far away from the bickering voices, but she too disoriented to figure out which way to move.

Lord Zedd's rough voice grew even harsher. "Your influence on the Power Coin and her mind are diminishing along with your body!"

"I linger on where you will be utterly destroyed!" Rita sounded so sure of herself, and Maggie was dizzy at the thought of Rita still being a problem after Lord Zedd.

 "I have brought dozens of Ranger teams to their knees! You couldn't even destroy your own!"

"I was on the verge of killing Zordon! I have tainted the legacy of Eltar's Green Power Coin for millennia! You will be known as the one defeated by mere children!"

Maggie's heart raced. On the one hand, it sounded like Rita was so sure Lord Zedd could be destroyed. On the other hand, Maggie's Power Coin came with a bit of a reputation.

Rita was suddenly in front of her, far more real than any nightmare before. "You'll learn soon enough. It will never be easy, being the Green Ranger."

    ~

Maggie cried out when she regained consciousness and Alpha was quick to numb her injuries. "Trini?" The hoarse sound was so very desperate, and her body trembled for a moment.

"Right here." Her hand didn't release Kim's, even if Kim had been ready to let go. Instead, she put the backpack down and half dragged Kim over. Jason and Zack moved out of the way so Trini could take Maggie's hand. "We got you, we’re getting you fixed up."

Maggie dragged her eyes open and locked onto Trini. "Thirsty." Her scratchy, thready voice made their hearts ache.

Billy was there a moment later, arms holding three ice cold water bottles. One already had a straw in it. Trini finally released Kim's hand to take the bottle meant for Maggie and held it for her. Maggie drained half the cool, refreshing liquid before telling Trini it was her turn. Trini obediently emptied the water bottle. Maggie gave her a tired smile.

Jason took Alpha's spot after the AI finished up. "Zordon says your Power Coin will prevent anything like this from happening again."

Maggie looked at him for a moment, then back to Trini. "Good to know." Her voice was a bit stronger, but she still sounded so exhausted.

Billy and Zack returned to the group with small mugs of the Ranger-grade protein shakes. Zack handed two to Trini."I don't know if anyone's actually hungry, but we need to eat something."

"I'm starving," Maggie murmured, eyes locking onto the mug with the wide straw. As much as she hated the weakness keeping her down, she knew if she tried to sit up, the others would insist she stay put. It hadn't taken her long to realize they were as much friends as they were Rangers after a few rounds in the Pit. Besides, she wasn't too sure she had the strength to sit up.

Trini sipped from her strawberry flavored mug while holding Maggie's hot chocolate shake in place. Billy produced a second one without being asked when Maggie's straw slurped against nothing. Maggie would've felt self conscious with everyone taking care of her, but they were so casual about it, and not exactly watching her the entire time besides Trini. The boys were sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed she was in. Kim had her phone in hand and was probably spinning a tale to her parents to cover her whereabouts. Only Trini was actively seeking out Maggie’s obvious injuries with her eyes, occasionally checking Maggie's face, and seemed two seconds away from climbing onto the bed.

Breathing didn't hurt anymore, though Maggie’s chest ached if she expanded her lungs too far. She wanted to sleep for a week. When she started to feel an itch in her healing elbow, she twitched her fingers just enough to confirm the injury and pain was gone. Maggie could feel the tension in her shoulders relax at knowing she no longer had to brace for agony.

"Feel a little better?" Trini asked once the second shake was gone.

Maggie nodded. "Relieved, too. There wasn't anything to fight against in my head. Couldn't close my eyes, couldn't stop listening..."

Trini held tight to Maggie's shaking hand and Kim absently squeezed Maggie's ankle as she texted one handed.

"We're sorry we couldn't break his control sooner," Jason said as he and Billy stood up. "We're sorry we had to hurt you."

"I'd rather be a little beat up than one of you dead because of me." Maggie's voice broke and she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Hey, no," Kim said, putting her phone down. "Maggie, that wasn't you. Everything that happened is Zedd's fault."

Maggie shook her head. "If I hadn't done the stupid thing-"

"Then it would've been me or Trini under his control. Would you blame either of us for what we did?"

"No." Maggie's voice was petulant and she knew it. "Why are you in my girlfriend's shirt?"

Kim rolled her eyes and Zack chuckled as he sat on the foot of the med-bed. Kim gently flicked Maggie's knee and said, "You know as well as I do that wearing blood soaked clothing sucks."

The guys sighed in exasperation while Maggie and Trini huffed out laughs. When Maggie careful slid her arms up to brace herself, Trini was there to help her sit up. It didn't take more than a tug for Maggie to get Trini sitting behind her. Trini leaned against the wall and wrapped her arms around Maggie. Kim perched on the side of the bed and Maggie felt infinitely safer surrounded by her team than she ever had with anyone else.

Kim picked up her chiming phone and sighed with relief. "The town's gone into some kind of lockdown. I convinced my parents that we're all a few miles down the coastal trail. I don't know if we'll be able to manage any kind of sleep over since all our parents will want us home."

Trini tightened her arms around Maggie even as Maggie pressed deeper into her body. "We'll figure something out," Trini murmured.

Maggie wasn't looking forward to being alone at night for the next week. She knew she didn't have a choice, but she didn't think she'd be getting any real sleep. Rita's memories were bad enough. Her own experience was likely to result in far worse nightmares.

"We can always sneak out and back," Zack said with a shrug.

Before they could discuss it more, the low hum that severed as the ship's warning system filled their ears. Trini pressed her lips against Maggie's temple as she shifted, but tightened her grip when Maggie's legs swung off the med-bed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "You actually think I'm just going to stay here?"

"You spent most of the day being tortured." Trini could feel herself getting light-headed at the thought Maggie facing Lord Zedd again.

"And you spent most of the day fighting me." Maggie looked at her friends. "You're going to have to knock me out if you want me to stay here."

Jason ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the not!couple. "One of us stays at your side the entire time. You do not pull any kind of heroics without a partner, understood?"

Maggie nodded. "Got it, Red Leader."

Trini made a noise of protest, but helped Maggie off the bed. "No kisses for you for, like, a week if you leave my side."

"You realize that deprives you as well, right?" Maggie asked as she tested how her legs held her weight.

"I'll be too busy being angry at you."

"Lies." Maggie looped her arms around Trini as the others left the infirmary. "I promise I'll stay as close to you as I can."

"Good. You better." Trini held her gently, all too aware of how much Maggie ached. Trini knew she would have to put off her terrifying question a bit longer. For now, she motioned to the backpack. "Did you wanna change clothes?"

Maggie shook her head as she led the way out of the room, Trini's hand in hers. "I'm fine for now. After we win this, though, yes. Change of clothes and the longest shower ever."

When they reached the Grid room, they stopped short at the sight before them. The others were circling around, marveling the addition of a new, green tinged platform. Maggie and Trini traded surprised, delighted looks before joining their teammates.

"How did this happen?" Maggie asked.

"This room is influenced by the Morphing Grid," Zordon said. "Your connection to the team and the Morphing Grid needed to stabilize before this change could occur. Let this be all the physical proof you need to believe you belong on this team."

Maggie looked around at her friends and almost broke into tears again at their supportive smiles. She laughed a little as Zack swept his arm at the platform between his and Trini's. Before Maggie stepped up, however, she hesitated and looked down at the faint green light. "Are we sure, though?” She shook her head when the other chorused in the affirmative. "I mean, aren't you afraid Zedd will control me again?"

Zack leaned folded his arms on the railing of the platform, even if they really didn't have the time for a pep talk. "Remember what we told you when Billy first morphed?"

"You and Jason were fighting."

"Yeah, after I nearly ran over all of them with a giant mechanical mastodon." Zack shrugged. "You're not really breaking any molds here, Mags."

She sighed. "None of that was on purpose."

Jason stepped into place and braced his hands on the side rails. "Nothing you've done to us has been on purpose. Look, we're all scared, but not of you. Zedd's managed nearly as much shit as Rita in less than a day. The only difference is he hasn't actually managed to kill any of us."

"I'm not worried you're gonna try to gut me again," Kim said as she stepped up. "I'm more worried about the nightmares you're gonna have after everything you were forced to watch."

"We don't just need you with us because you're the sixth Ranger," Billy said as took his place. "We want you on this team."

Zack waved at the platform again. Trini put Maggie's hand on the railing and said, "You got this, and we got you."

Maggie looked at Trini and saw no hint of hesitation or doubt in her eyes. She stepped up and Zack whooped before leaping onto his own spot. Trini waited for Maggie to center herself before going to her platform. The moment Trini was in place, Maggie felt something deep in her bones. It was warm and comforting and when she looked up, she saw her friends grinning at her.

"Ready?" Jason asked everyone.

Maggie nodded along with the others, feeling almost giddy at the new connection to the team. She closed her eyes and didn't have to reach for her armor like she thought she would. New energy seemed to rush through her, making her feel lighter, making her feel part of a whole instead of alone in the dark. Her eyes opened to reveal the team finishing up their own morphing. After being trapped, Maggie expected the armor to feel like a cage. Instead, she felt powerful and free.

"Serpentera is closing in on the Zeo Crystal's location," Zordon told them.

Maggie leapt off her platform and rubbed her hands together. "Godzilla versus Manda time."

"What?" Billy asked as they headed for the door.

"So you know how every Star Trek and Star Wars dvd is displayed next to the t.v. at my aunt's house? She has a lot more sci-fi than that in the cabinet next to it." Maggie looked at Trini and pointed at her. "And if we're going to Winter Ball together, you have to watch at least three Godzilla movies with me."

Trini tried to not let her joy leak into her voice. "We're going to Winter Ball together?"

"Well, I'm going because there'll be a buffet and I now need more food than I did a few weeks ago. I wouldn't mind dancing with a pretty girl while I'm there."

"You think I'm pretty?" Trini asked as they headed down the stairs.

Maggie shoved her off the ledge and into the Pit. "Nah, I think you're fucking adorable."

Trini walked backwards for a bit, smirk clear even through the black visor. "Not yet, I'm not."

Maggie did not trip, no one saw it, it did not happen.

Jason's sigh was heavy in their ears. "You both do this on purpose, don't you?"

Maggie recovered her stride as she followed the team to where the Zords were waiting. "Should've talked me out of it when you had the chance, Red Leader."

"I'm not regretting that part," Jason said. "I'm regretting not asking you two to keep it PG when we're trying to save the world."

"Two hours ago you told Zedd to go butt fuck his staff," Zack said.

Jason sighed as Maggie and Trini cackled.

For a moment, Maggie wondered if she'd even be able to get to her Zord in time; Zedd had sent it back to the sea after her first loss against the team. But when she climbed up over the ledge, her jaw dropped.

Her dragon stood ready next to Trini's Zord. She grinned as she leapt up to the cockpit. "Thanks, Alpha!"

The robot's voice filtered through the comms. "I do believe the saying is, it followed you home."

Maggie settled in and felt the connection to her Zord nearly light up her brain. The laugh that escaped her would almost be embarrassing if her friends weren't telling her the experience would only get better. Wrapping her hands around the controls, Maggie focused on the world beyond the cave. The sun was getting closer to the horizon. But it wasn't the end of the world. Not if they had any say in what happened next.


	15. Chapter 15

Maggie's aunt came home from the makeshift attack shelter to find Maggie and her five new friends passed out in the living room. There were six pizza boxes in varying states of destruction and one of the oldest Godzilla movies on the television. She quickly took a picture of the group before sending it to their parents. They had all been so relieved their kids had been on the coastal trail and away from the town, even if it meant bad cell reception. After pulling out the hide-a-bed in the guest room, she roused the teenagers into proper sleeping spaces. Jason and Billy took the bedroom, Zack took up the couch, and the three girls curled up around each other like cats in Maggie's bed. 

On the one hand, Maggie's new friends would barely leave enough food for mice after breakfast. On the other hand, between the six of them, there would be a great meal and a spotless kitchen as a result.

Maggie was able to hold the nightmares at bay while snug between her friends, but Sunday night tested her skill at stoping the screams from leaving her throat and waking her aunt. Rita's memories were nothing compared to her own. Watching herself stab her friends and stand over their bodies with their power coins in her hands left her shaking in sweat soaked sheets. If it weren't for the connection to the Grid giving her an energy boost, she would've slept through all her classes on Monday. 

When Maggie woke up at dark o'clock on Tuesday morning, it was due to Trini's soft voice urging Maggie awake. For the rest of the school week, one of the Rangers snuck out to spend the night with Maggie. They would leave before dawn so their parents wouldn't notice them missing. Maggie was pretty sure sharing her bed should've felt weird, she should've been worried about hurting her friends again. Instead, she felt relief knowing there was someone with her, knowing someone would wake her up before she started screaming. It was a comfort knowing someone would be there to stop her if she woke up locked in her head again.

Maggie wasn't entirely sure what she did to deserve someone like Trini, who cared for her despite the fact they weren't really dating. But Trini was there to distract Maggie with new Yoga poses, offered to train against whatever new minion Alpha could create in the Pit, and hold Maggie through the crying jags until there were no more tears. The others didn't leave Maggie alone, either, but it was only Trini who kissed her bloodshot eyes and held Maggie for long periods. 

Maggie sometimes followed Zack home to learn how to play chess. For all Zack could be a loud, train-surfing, crazy man, he could be a calm, patient teacher. Jason taught her the various fixes he was doing with his truck, with occasional help from his dad. Using her strength to fix something did wonders for her mental state. Kim would just drive up the highway, blasting music with the windows down, sometimes with Trini managing to nap in the backseat. There was always something different to do with Billy, from computers to learning to cook from his mother to watching him make a taser from a toaster and an old digital camera. 

Jason put off team training for a week. He knew better than to ask Maggie to take swings at them with or without armor. Saturday after detention, they raced each other up to the ship. Maggie was a little embarrassed when Trini took her aside and kissed her nerves away. 

Trini pulled back with a smirk. "No more mouth kisses between us until you can toss Zack into a wall."

"That's..." Maggie caught her breath and tried to forget how soft and warm Trini felt pressed against her. "That's not exactly going to hinder us."

Trini pouted. "Does that mean you don't like kissing me on the mouth?"

Maggie tried to make words for a moment before she glared. "That's cheating."

Trini dragged her eyes down Maggie's body and back up again. "You really don't want to know how I'll cheat."

Maggie might have whimpered just a little. Maybe. Quietly. Almost silently.

Jason's sigh echoed in the cave. "Can the two of you either be sickeningly cute or tiny and angry while in the Pit?"

Zack had to sit down due to how hard he was laughing, while Kim told Jason to stop being jealous just because he had no one to "inspire" him in the same way. Billy voiced his vote for cute because he didn't want Trini and Maggie to test the structural integrity of the walls by tossing people into them. After grinning at each other, Maggie and Trini raced over to the others and met head on the first hologram Alpha tossed up.

Alpha and Zordon put her in touch with other Rangers across the galaxy who had similar mind control experiences. It wasn't therapy in an official or traditional sense, but being able to relate to someone helped Maggie get her head sorted when she was afraid of holding Trini too tight. The computer program translated the alien languages well enough, but sometimes there were hilarious mix-ups. Zordon's Eltaran was considered extinct, and so it was Alpha who usually found a bridge language to get concepts across. As much as Maggie appreciated the efforts of her friends, they didn't quite understand the feeling of wanting to throw up and cry while being utterly trapped.

Maggie's aunt noticed the lack of sleep in the dark circles under her eyes and the sheer exhaustion Maggie showed some mornings. With the semester almost over, Maggie claimed projects and midterms were piled up because all the teachers forgot their students had four other classes. Maggie came home one day to find her childhood teddy bear on her bed three weeks after Lord Zedd's attack. It was musty and threadbare, and even as she wondered what words were traded between her aunt and mother, she let the pale brown stuffed toy soak up her tears. She only cuddled him when was she conscious, not wanting to tear him apart in her sleep. At night, he sat on her nightstand with her Power Coin between his paws. 

It took most of Winter Break for Maggie to stop holding back in the Pit when she was facing her friends. The nightmares eventually tapered off to once a night instead of every time she fell asleep. Alpha never used Tengu in the Pit. The other Rangers never joked about being unable to trust her because she tricked them once. Soon she could wrap an arm around Trini without hesitating, could reach out and shove Zack off his perch when he said the pun they were all thinking, could hold a knife in the kitchen when her friends, especially Kim, were in the room. Yoga started to help calm her mind once more. 

A winter storm full of lightening had the Rangers huddled around Maggie in Trini's living room, under a blanket fort Trini had initially made for her brothers to hide in from the storm. The twins bracketed Maggie under the guise of protecting her to distract them from their own fear as they played Mario Kart. It was almost an hour before the kids demanded the Rangers stop letting them win, it was no fun if there wasn't a real challenge. 

They got a week back to school before Zordon summoned them back to the ship. Having defeated Lord Zedd had given them a bit of rest. After a dozen years of destroying planets, being stopped by the newest Power Rangers in the galaxy gave other evils among the stars pause.

"Who's looking to get their ass kicked next?" Zack asked as they poured into the Grid Room.

"A morphological being known as Ivan Ooze has escaped from his prison."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I am ending part one there ;}


End file.
